A Different Beginning
by MannyZanders
Summary: Johnny and Maxie's friendship starts differently. Set early 2008.
1. Chapter 1

_A/ N: I own nothing GH related. Set early 2008. _

There was something about the snide blonde. She had this prickly covering that warned she was best handled with care and caution. And if you had an ounce of self-preservation…avoided altogether. But John Zacchara had never backed down from a challenge, and he wasn't going to start now.

And so he merely smiled back at Maxie's angry mutinous expression that was promising him all kinds of retribution if he didn't comply with her wishes to leave her the hell alone. Johnny had no intention of going anywhere.

He wasn't even really certain why the sight of her looking so lost and alone, weeping on the park bench had gotten to him in the first place. But it had – it had pulled at something in him, filled him with a sense of something being wrong in the universe to see her so defenseless and defeated looking. Before he could stop to question the wisdom of his actions, he'd instructed his driver to stop and was approaching the tiny blonde.

She'd looked up to see him approaching, scrubbed furiously at her tears and told him with a glare to go to hell. For some reason, he'd taken comfort in her belligerence; it suited her better than the broken little girl look she had when he'd walked up. But he still refused to leave.

She glared at him, "Why the hell do you even care Johnny? You barely know me; we sure as hell aren't friends."

He shrugged, "No we're not, but you look like you could use one."

Maxie sneered at him, "If I was looking for a shoulder to cry on, it wouldn't be yours."

He stared down at her, "Are you always this much of a bitch?"

"Yes, or do you not listen when your girlfriend talks?" she smirked and Johnny raised his brows at her.

"There's a difference in being a bitch to Lulu and just being a bitch."

She sighed and glanced down at her feet. "I am a bitch, ask anyone." Her face scrunched up and she tilted her head to look at him. "Spinelli is the first person in a long time that sees more than that when he looks at me."

Johnny frowned, "You're crying over Spinelli?" He didn't know why, but the thought grated at him for some reason.

"No. Well, kind of – it's just that…" she paused, her eyes shining with unshed tears, "My sister always believed in me, I mean – she wasn't stupid or anything, she knew I was a selfish manipulative bitch; but she loved me anyway. And now that she's gone…" she sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "Spinelli is the closet I've come to someone believing in me again since Georgie died. Having someone believe in me like that again is like having a little piece of Georgie back."

She glanced away from him, her voice a shaky whisper, "I miss her so much. And I'm going to lose it even that little bit of her again because I can't stop myself from being a bitch to Lulu."

Johnny stared at her for a long moment, "Spinelli may not be my favorite person and in all honesty, I don't get your friendship with him. But I don't think you're giving him enough credit, I think he's capable of being friends with both of you without trying to force either of you to be friends with each other."

He paused briefly, "And truthfully, Lulu does her fair share of provoking the bitch in you in this little war between the two of you. It's not really that surprising that you can't help reacting to it."

A startled laugh escaped her; the sound surprised and genuine. "I think that's the first time I've ever heard anyone not automatically jump to saint Lulu's defense. But the truth is I could probably try harder and not be such a bitch to her -" She grinned at him, her eyes twinkling mischievously, "I just don't want to."

He laughed in response, he couldn't help it. She was definitely unique, and there was no denying her beauty, but it was more than that – there was something about her self-effacing honesty and unapologetic self-centered streak that brought out the protective side of him. He figured it was because she reminded him so much of his sister.

He shook his head slightly at the thought, his sister and Maxie - there was a pairing that could rock Port Charles to its core; then returned her grin.

Her smile dimmed a little and she furrowed her brow thoughtfully "Lulu's right though."

"About?" He prompted her with a raise of his eyebrows and she shrugged slightly, "Spinelli. He is a really good person, too good to be hanging around me. Who I am, the things I've done –"

"Maxie, nobody's perfect – mistakes are a part of living, you can't beat yourself up for making them from time to time."

She shook her head at him, "It doesn't matter how hard I try - I will never be good and kind like Georgie. And sometimes, I think – why bother? Because I'm always going to be the screw up, no matter how much I don't want to – I always seem to fuck things up, so why try? But the thing is, I really don't want to with Spinelli – I don't have many friends. And I know that I'm destined to fuck up and let him down and I just – I just…" She glanced up at him then and he felt his heart tug at the tears glistening in her eyes.

Without a second thought, he tugged her up and pulled her into a light embrace, tucking her head beneath his chin and stroked her back reassuringly. Her voice was muffled against his chest as she continued, "I just don't want to disappoint him like I do everyone else."

She rested her head against his shoulder, "What if one day he realizes Lulu was right all along and decides he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore?" Her voice hitched and she shuddered out a tight breath, "I can't lose him, he and Sam are the only friends I have left."

Johnny pulled back slightly to look down at her and shook his head, "No they're not. You have me too."

She grinned wryly at that, "As much as I appreciate anything that causes that bug of Lulu's to crawl further up her ass, why would you want to be my friend? For some reason that I'll never understand, you've joined the ranks of the morons that follow Lulu around like a devoted little puppy."

She pulled her head back and fixed him with a look that conveyed clearly her opinion of his choice of girlfriend and continued with a grin. "And in case you missed it somehow, Lulu hates me."

He shrugged but didn't release her from his embrace, "You look like you could use some friends. I know I sure as hell could."

"Yeah right." She scoffed, "Friends with the son of resident psychopath Anthony Zacchara?" she pulled away from him and placed a hand on her hip, "And what exactly makes you think I want a friend with a permanent bull's-eye on his back?"

"I would think your friendship with Morgan's little buddy would make you immune to the perils of associating with people surrounded by danger."

She narrowed her eyes at him, her glare practically radiating waves of heat towards him and he was once again struck by the similarities of her demeanor to that of his older sister. "_Morgan's little buddy?_ Is that why you're trying to play knight in shining armor, you think I'm going to be so grateful that the great Johnny Zacchara wants to be my friend, that what ? I'm going to get all relaxed around you and accidentally spill all of Jason's secrets?"

He raised his hand to her face and with the back of his fingers, stroked the soft skin of her cheek with a chuckle. "Maxie – I think we both know, I'm far from being anyone's knight in shining anything. Besides I have a hard time picturing you being either grateful or relaxed and as far as spilling Morgan's secrets?"

He raised an eyebrow at her and she fought the urge to smack the amused look off his smug face, "Something tells me Morgan isn't stupid enough to let you anywhere near anything that would be useful to my family, let alone trust you with anything important."

"Hey!" Her face grew indignant at that and he laughed outright when she stamped a tiny foot, giving a perfect impression of a petulant third-grader, "If you think trusting me is so stupid, then why all this weird _I want to be your friend_ crap?"

Instead of the flippant comeback she was expecting, he frowned thoughtfully and considered her question for a moment.

"I'm not sure, I know that some people would think trusting you could prove to be a dangerous undertaking, but..." he shrugged, "I saw what losing your sister did to you, nobody fakes that kind of desperation, that kind of grief – nobody should feel that alone."

"So?" at his confused look, she huffed in aggravation, placing both hands on her hips as she glared at him. "What does Georgie have to do with you trying to be my friend?"

He met her stare head-on with an intensity that caused Maxie's breath to catch a little at the naked emotion reflected in his eyes, "Honestly? You've got guts and an instinct for survival second to none. I admire you Maxie…I don't see how anyone couldn't. If I ever lost Claudia - especially so fucking randomly and so violently - it would send me under so deep that no one – not even Lulu – could bring me out. You are one of a kind, Maxie; I have never met anyone like you before."

Something intense flowed between them and Maxie mentally flailed around in her head for a moment searching for something –anything – to say. "Yeah, well you and your sister do have that whole Angelina Jolie and her brother, creepy vibe going on – really makes a person wonder about the two of you."

At her words Johnny threw his head back and laughed, genuine amusement dancing on his face. "I think we are going to be great friends. You – Maxie Jones – are many things, but I'd be willing to bet…you are never boring."

Maxie grinned at him, "That's me, a constant source of amusement." She slipped her arm in his and sighed dramatically, "Well, come on – let's get on with it."

His brow lifted questioningly, at both her words and her arm in his – "Get on with what exactly?"

Her grin widened and her eyes took on a calculating gleam, "You –_friend_ - are taking me shopping."

He couldn't help it, he laughed appreciatively at her boldness and grinned down at her, "Shopping, huh?"

Her grin grew impish as she nodded her head enthusiastically, "Yep, it's what I do for all my friends."

"Really? You let all your friends take you shopping? How incredibly exciting for them."

Maxie blatantly ignored his sarcasm and began walking towards the waiting limo tugging him with her, "It really is, now come on – I want to start reaping all the benefits of being friends with Port Charles' Dark Prince of the Underworld."

He shook his head at her as they climbed into the back of the limo and settled back against the plush leather, "Dark Prince of the Underworld? You've been hanging out with Spinelli too much."

She shrugged and shook her head refusing his silent offer of a drink from the stocked mini-bar. "Get used to it; the friend version of the Maxie doll comes complete with the mandatory Spinelli action figure."

Johnny choked a little on the scotch he'd just poured for himself, "Spinelli action figure? Something tells me that particular toy gets very little, uh - _action_."

With a raise of her eyebrows, she grinned wickedly at him in response, "I wouldn't be so sure of that, besides you never know – maybe he comes with great thrusting motion."

This time he spit out his drink and glared at her while wiping the liquid from his pants, "Jesus Maxie, that was just all kinds of fucking wrong."

At that she laughed outright, loud and hard, her smile so contagious he couldn't help return it with an answering grin.

The sound of Darth Vader's theme song broke out and Johnny raised a questioning eyebrow at the music emanating from the direction of her lap. Maxie flushed and shot him an apologetic grin, digging into her purse and producing a slim phone.

With an expert flick of her wrist Maxie flipped open her phone and chirped, "Hi Kate."

Looking out the window at the passing scenery Johnny tuned out Maxie's conversation and thought about the complicated blonde next to him. There was just something about his girlfriends' arch-nemesis that intrigued him. He'd meant what he'd told her, he really did admire her – she survived, thrived even, in circumstances that would break most people.

Sure, she was a raving mess of conflicting emotions and possessed an all consuming need to hurt others just to seek some sort of solace from her own grief and demons. But he'd rarely seen, let alone met, someone who could keep going through all the shit that life seemed to be constantly throwing at her. It was almost inspiring really.

Okay, so maybe inspiring was a little much, but she was strong and she was definitely a force to be reckoned with. Lulu constantly compared her to a hurricane and maybe she was; swift and fast moving, hurdling through obstacles with the kind of confidence born of surety, of absolute belief in one's own destructive powers.

She was more than just a force of nature though; it would probably take a force of nature to take her down. And he liked that, he liked knowing that no matter who tried, no matter the circumstances, no matter the shit life piled on, she was just going to keep going, keep shoving forward – even if it was just anger, grief and hatred that fueled her on.

Made him want to believe again.

Believe that the ability to survive anything, even the burden of being a Zacchara was achievable. Most days all he wanted to do was run, escape from his family, his life, himself. But the deceptively delicate looking blonde next to him was a living reminder that no matter how bad you had it; it could always be worse. He didn't know if it was pity or admiration…but he knew with absolute certainty that he wanted Maxie Jones in his life.

He's had so little in his own fucked-up life to believe in, except for maybe his sister. The unavoidable truth that no one else besides Claudia seemed to be able to understand was that heartbreak, chaos and insanity were unshakable constants in his family, his life.

And maybe that was it, what was at the heart of this puzzling connection he felt for the feisty blonde. He had a gut feeling that Maxie would understand the demons he and his sister fought against on a constant basis. That not only would she understand but she wouldn't run from them or pretend they didn't exist.

Maybe it was more than wanting to be near Maxie; maybe he needed to have even just a little bit of her in his life. He needed somebody beyond his sister that knew the bullshit that he was capable of, could see him clearly for who he was and wouldn't care. He liked the idea of having someone in his life outside of Claudia that was capable of matching him dysfunction for dysfunction but would be there anyway; trust him anyway.

_What the hell?_

Johnny shook his head -- did he just reference the word trust to Maxie Jones? He thought about it for a minute then shrugged mentally and accepted it. It was what it was; he decided to just accept it. Maybe that's what had been missing in his life, acceptance. Acceptance without the conditions and limitations that his last name invariably guaranteed in all of his relationships.

For too long, he'd had to question everything, wonder about the motives of everyone around him, and he realized he was tired. Tired of the exhausting tedium of mistrust.

He knew it made no sense – he and Lulu were still dancing around the edge of trusting each other, and she'd made clear her feelings about his sister. But what she didn't get, was that Claudia came from his life, his world – if she hated his sister, then she hated a part of him that he could never truly turn away from. How would they ever truly trust each other, let alone build something long lasting?

But he believed in going with his instincts, it was how you survived in his world. And everything in him was telling him that he wanted to trust Maxie Jones. He wanted to be someone else in her life that believed in her.

He grinned to himself, when he had a revelation…he didn't mess around. The thought, the realization; that he wanted – maybe even needed -- the friendship of the snarky, defensive, manipulative blonde was a freeing one and he laughed out loud, the sound cracking through the darkened limo. Feeling freer than he had in a long time, he leaned forward and shut her phone with an audible click.

She stared at him mouth agape, then narrowed her eyes "You do realize that you just hung up on my boss?"

He shrugged, "I'll buy you a new one."

Her lips tugged upwards in a reluctant smile, "A new boss?"

"You shouldn't be answering to anyone Maxie, someone like you should be giving orders, not following them."

She raised her eyebrows questioningly at him, "Are you going to buy me my own fashion magazine?"

Again he shrugged, "Sure, why not?"

Her mouth fell open and then quickly shut, the calculating gleam back in her startling blue eyes, "I think I'm going to like being friends with you."

He raised his glass in her direction, "Here's to the start of a beautiful friendship."

She grinned at him, and leaned against him to tap the edge of his glass with her cell phone, "Here's to pissing off Lulu Spencer."

Her smile lost its mocking edge and settled with warmth at his answering laughter.

This promised to be a hell of an interesting friendship.


	2. Claudia's Great Day

_A/N: Still own nothing GH related. Still early 2008, Johnny/Claudia run the "family" – Anthony's not in the picture, Claudia/Lulu hate each other as do Lulu/Maxie, and Michael was never shot – Johnny is still with Lulu but has begun a deep friendship with Maxie._

Claudia Zacchara was not a patient woman. Nor was she particularly considerate of others or their feelings.

Her brother John being the exception.

But even she had her limits. And they were now pretty much stretched to the breaking point.

She'd waited patiently for her brother to come to his senses about Lulu Spencer. Well – as patiently as she got anyway, which granted – compared to others, wasn't much. But she hadn't killed the twit or even punched her irritating little lights out yet. So Claudia counted that as a win in the patience column.

But really – how much more was she supposed to endure? It had been months now and the whiney little airhead was still around. It was enough to make her wonder about her brother's hold on sanity. Because seriously – a guy had to be insane, or just really desperate to get laid – to willingly and voluntarily keep the Spencer brat around. And she knew very well that getting laid was not exactly a problem for her brother.

So that just left insanity.

Or the other – possibly more horrifying – possibility…the twit actually made her brother happy. As much as that thought really grated on Claudia, even she had to admit – her brother did seem happier lately. More accepting of who he was, more at peace with his legacy as the new head of the Zacchara family. He was great at it too, just like Claudia always knew he would be. He had an instinct for the business, and an innate ability to inspire loyalty from their men. She wished he'd loosen his stance on the whole no-drugs thing he'd initiated but even without that income, they were turning huge profits.

Which made the whole Lulu thing even harder to understand. She'd heard them last night – arguing, which really wasn't a surprise; they seemed to do that a lot the last few weeks. But listening to them, she'd realized that whatever was giving her brother his new found confidence, comfort level, – in taking over from their father – it wasn't coming from his girlfriend.

Claudia had heard the annoyance, the frustration, in John's voice as they argued. It took everything in her not to burst into the room and smack Lulu upside her bleached little head. Where the hell did she get off demanding to know what was going on with the business? She was a girlfriend, not a wife – and laying down ultimatums about backing off of Corinthos and Morgan, was not only not her place – but none of her fucking business.

She'd waited for her brother to tell the little brat exactly that but he hadn't. And she'd realized her patience with her brother's ability to make rational decisions about the Spencer girl had officially run out.

The question was – what to do about it?

She had turned over possibility after possibility in her head but had come up short. She'd even entertained the thought of pursuing Lulu's brother just to mess with the girls head. She'd abandoned the idea pretty quickly though, the Cassadine prince had actually been fairly decent and gracious to her the few times they'd met. She thought the other brother – the cop – well, he was clearly an idiot but something about the still grieving Cassadine got to her. So that was out, she'd considered bribing the girl to stay away from John but Claudia knew she would just run to John and he'd probably be pretty pissed – so that was out too.

Finally, she just decided on the direct approach. Which is what had her climbing the stairs of the Metro Court. She loved the element of surprise, hence the stairs and not the elevator. She wanted to catch Lulu completely unaware.

Pushing open the door to the correct floor, she followed the path along the hallway to the side entrance to the Crimson offices. Claudia smiled to herself, even if all she did was piss off the brat – she'd still consider it a pretty good day.

"_God Lulu, get over yourself – would you?_"

Claudia paused at the words. Sounded like somebody else found the twit as annoying as she did. She shrugged to herself and leaned against the wall – couldn't hurt to listen before she announced her presence. Maybe she'd find out something useful.

"_Don't play dumb with me Maxie – you were all over Johnny. When are you going to realize he doesn't want anything to do with you? He finds you laughable at best."_

Claudia raised her eyebrows at that. Little Lulu sounded mighty jealous. Her brow wrinkled in confusion – wait a minute, Maxie – where had she heard that name before?

"_If that's true, then what are you so upset about?"_

Claudia smiled a little, whoever Maxie was – she didn't seem particularly upset about Lulu's accusations, she sounded more amused than anything.

"_I'm upset that you can't seem to take a hint. Johnny and I are together – he's not impressed with your lame seduction attempts, you're just making a fool of yourself throwing yourself at him like that."_

Whoa – Lulu was seriously pissed. And scared. Claudia's smiled widened – she could definitely hear the fear under the words. Things just got interesting – maybe she needed to introduce herself to this Maxie person.

"_Once again Lulu – get over yourself. Nobody was all over anyone and I was not throwing myself at him - we were just swimming… stop being so paranoid. It's seriously unattractive, hasn't anyone ever explained to you that pathetically needy, clingy and possessive girls are just a huge turnoff to a guy like John?"_

Whoa. This was definitely getting interesting – Claudia thought she just might like this Maxie chick. The detached amusement in Maxie's voice was especially revealing – she wondered if Lulu realized that. Maxie was in no means angry, defensive or pissed off by the accusations and insults – which meant something. What exactly, Claudia wasn't entirely sure but she'd find out. For now, she'd just stay right where she was and continue to enjoy the show.

"_What the hell? A guy like John?"_

The brat was practically sputtering and Claudia grinned – yep, definitely liked this Maxie chick. Hmmm….if the girl liked shopping at all and had any amount of taste in clothes, Claudia may have just found herself a friend. Anyone who had Lulu so worked up was definitely someone she could hang with.

"_One – his name is Johnny – not John, Maxie. And two – what the hell would you know what does or doesn't turn him off?"_

Claudia rolled her eyes, _His name is Johnny _– Lulu was an idiot.

"_His name is Johnny? What the hell kind of comeback is that Lulu? What are you nine?"_

Ha – you tell her Maxie! Claudia hoped that office was equipped with a security system; she desperately needed a copy of this little confrontation. This was just fun.

"_And I am done with this conversation Lulu. John and I are friends – that's not going to stop because you're too insecure and paranoid to handle it. As for throwing myself at him – my seduction techniques are anything but lame. If I wanted your boyfriend, I would already have him. So get out of my face, sit your ass back down and do some actual work for a change."_

Okay, that was it. Even if the girl had the worst taste in the world, Claudia had officially found her new best friend.

"_Friends? Friends? You've never been just friends with a guy a day in your life, you don't know how to keep your legs closed. Stay the hell away from Johnny!"_

Claudia winced a little – damn, she didn't think anyone but dogs got that high-pitched. A picture of Lulu as a little yapping Chihuahua danced in her head and she chuckled to herself.

"_Would you please lower your fucking voice Lulu – you're going to have the dogs all over Port Charles howling in a minute. I really hate repeating myself but I'll make an exception since you're such a slower learner. John and I are friends – deal with it. I am not throwing myself at your boyfriend, once again – we're friends. Yes, he's a hot guy – but I know lots of hot guys. I have no interest in taking him away from you – you're doing a fine job driving him away with your paranoia and hysteria all by yourself."_

There was a god – there really was. This was all the proof she needed. It was the only explanation – something somewhere was trying to restore balance in the world by way of this Maxie. Claudia smiled - maybe she didn't need to do anything about Lulu after all. Maybe all she really needed was to push this girl and her brother together and Lulu's jealousy would do the rest.

"_You like your job, right Maxie?"_

"_Excuse me?"_

"_You heard me, I know how much you love this job."_

"_And what the hell does that have to do with anything?"_

"_I don't need this job, I don't even really like it – but you do Maxie."_

Uh-oh. There was a smugness in little Lulu's voice that didn't bode well.

"_Is that supposed to be some sort of threat, Lulu?"_

"_It's not a threat Maxie. I'm just telling you the facts – I get fired, you get fired. Kate's rules, remember?"_

"_So?"_

"_So, stay away from Johnny. This stupid friendship with him is over. You choose Maxie – your job or your supposed friendship with Johnny, which is it going to be?"_

Huh. So maybe Lulu wasn't as stupid as she thought. Claudia narrowed her eyes, she wondered if John had ever really seen this side of his girlfriend before?

"_Let me get this straight – you're so threatened by my friendship with your boyfriend that you're threatening to get me fired because of it?"_

Definitely not amused anymore. She sounded more than a little pissed now. Claudia cocked her head, should be interesting to see what this Maxie did with Lulu's threat.

"_No, Maxie – I'm giving you a choice…stay the hell away from Johnny or I blow your dream job out of the water. You can go back to working in the boutique – I'm sure my cousin will let you go back to work waiting on her guests. Or you know, I'm sure there's a department store somewhere that needs a cashier."_

"_Fuck you Lulu."_

"_Excuse me?"_

"_You heard me, you little bitch. Fuck. You. John is my friend, if he wants me to stay away from him – that's his decision, not yours."_

Huh. So either she really didn't care if she lost this job or she didn't think Lulu had the guts to follow through with her threat.

"_Do you think I'm joking Maxie? Because I'm not – tell Johnny your friendship is over or I will not stop until I get you fired from Crimson."_

"_Go ahead Lulu, do your worst – John is my friend and that's the way it's staying."_

"_What the fuck is going on here?"_

Okay – this just got a hell of a lot more interesting. Claudia nearly clapped hear hands with glee. That last voice had been unexpected – to everyone, she'd bet.

" _Johnny! What – uh… what are you doing here?"_

"_Listening to you end our relationship apparently, Lulu."_

Claudia raised her eyes skyward. Thank you, thank you – god, fate, karma – whatever was giving her this little gift, she didn't think she'd ever ask for anything ever again. This was like Christmas, her birthday and every holiday wrapped in one – someone, somewhere was definitely smiling down on her.

"_Okay, as entertaining as you two and your never-ending drama is – I have better things to do. You two have fun."_

"_Maxie – I think you should hear this."_

"_No, John – I shouldn't. This is between the two of you, I'm frankly tired of Lulu dragging me into the middle of your guy's drama. Whatever you and Lulu need to say to each other, you don't need an audience."_

"_Right – because all of a sudden you give a damn about doing the right thing."_

"_Grow up Lulu and stay the fuck away from me – don't worry about getting me fired, you can tell Kate I quit."_

Whoa – okay, really not expecting that one. Claudia frowned; should she stay and continue to listen to what was obviously the implosion of her brother's relationship or should she track down this Maxie girl? There was no way she'd beat the elevator down by using the stairs but maybe she could just go down one flight and catch the elevator from there. She definitely had to meet this woman, maybe she could hire her to just sit around the mansion with her – she sounded entertaining.

"Uh...hello – I could get you the security tapes if you want, that way you can see and hear Lulu getting dumped on her ass - finally. "

Claudia blinked at the amused blonde suddenly standing in front of her. Where the hell had she come from?

"Who the hell are you?"

The blonde smiled wider, stuck her hand out and kept her voice low. "Maxie Jones."

Oh. Oh….no wonder little Lulu was so worried, this girl was gorgeous. Claudia looked her over quickly, great taste in clothes too, and shook her outstretched hand with a grin.

"Claudia Zacchara."

"I know – your brother talks about you non-stop."

Claudia cocked her head at that. "Huh, never said anything about you."

"Yeah, I know – he doesn't really talk about me at all. Says he's worried his enemies will think I'm a target." She shrugged.

Well, that was interesting. John certainly had no problem dragging Lulu Spencer all over town and making her a target. And she knew very well that he never discussed his sister or his family with the Spencer twit. What was so special about the girl standing in front of her? Or maybe that was it. This girl _was_ special to her brother. Claudia smiled – today was a very good day.

"Hey – I suddenly have the urge for some new shoes. You up for a trip into Manhattan?"

Maxie looked thoughtfully at her for a few seconds, then grinned. "Sure – I haven't used Johnny's new American Express Black card in awhile, it's overdue for some use."

Claudia halted their progress down the hallway with a frown. "You have my brother's credit card?"

"Sure – how do you think I afforded these boots?" She stuck a tiny foot out with a grin.

"Are those – are those Manolo Blahnik's?"

"Yep, the alligator ones – gorgeous aren't they?"

Claudia shook her head in disbelief. "Let me get this straight – my brother gave you his credit card to buy $14,000 boots?"

"Well, technically…it's my card - he put it in my name, the bills just go to him." She shrugged. "He said it was better than me dragging him all over New York again."

Claudia laughed and stuck her arm through Maxie's. She just knew she was going to like this girl. No wonder Lulu had been so worried – Maxie had her brother whipped. She smiled as they made their way towards the stairs. "I have a feeling you and I are going to be great friends."

She wondered if it was too soon to start planning her brother's wedding to this girl. Probably – damn. Oh well, Lulu was definitely gone now, she'd let her brother work out his obvious feelings for the girl beside her on his own. Unless of course he took too long – then it would be her sisterly duty to ensure he didn't let this one get away.

Claudia grinned over at the blonde as they exited the hotel doors and made their way to the waiting limo. "Well, come on then Maxie Jones – let's get to shopping, Manhattan is calling our name."

"What about your brother?"

"He can buy his own shoes."


	3. Let Me Entertain You

_A/N: I had a request for some Jason/Maxie interaction in this world. This takes liberties with their actual relationship at this point, but I'm going with the theory that if things had happened differently, things would be uh….different._

-----------------------------------------

Jason Morgan was an ass.

Scratch that – Jason Morgan was a pompous, _self-righteous, _arrogantass.

He was…he was…_damn it!_ Maxie's nose wrinkled in frustration. There just weren't enough words to describe how big of an ass Sonny's errand boy was. _Oohh…insufferable_, he was an insufferable, pompous, self-righteous, arrogant ass. Huh. Who knew that stupid word of the day calendar would actually come in handy?

She scowled. Stupid calendar given to her by that stupid mafia muscle.

So lost in her internal monologue on the many irritating qualities of said mafia enforcer, Maxie failed to notice the newspaper lying directly in her path as she made her way out of the coffee house.

"Aaargh…" She tripped, of course, and her seven dollar chocolate cinnamon iced latte sloshed violently from its lidless plastic home and cascaded down her blouse. Her beautiful, one of a kind, original Natalia blouse. And to top it off, she was now latte-less.

"Son of a bitch!" She stamped a tiny foot and gave a screech of frustration. This suck-fest of a morning was just getting suckier by the minute. She threw her now mostly empty cup down on to the sidewalk.

"You okay?"

Maxie huffed in irritation. Figures. Preoccupation with the manipulative actions of Sonny's jackass of an enforcer had led to her current predicament, only to have said jackass witness her humiliation. Stupid, bossy, smug, word-of-the-day calendar giving, blouse-ruining, latte-spilling jerk.

"No, I am not okay Jason. Look what you did – this was an original Natalia, you…you Neanderthal!"

"What the hell is a Natalia? And what do you mean, what I did? How is your stomping around and tripping over things, my fault exactly?" His face was annoyingly blank, save the arch of one dark eyebrow. Her scowl deepened.

"Natalia is an up and coming designer you moron." She huffed and stared morosely at her soaked blouse. She looked up sharply to glare at him.

"And, this _**is**_ entirely your fault. If you could learn to mind your own damn business, I wouldn't have been distracted by what a big bossy jerk you are!" She stamped a ridiculously high-heeled foot at him. "You had no right busting in on Sam last night. Trying to get her to do your dirty work was low – even for you. I am not abandoning any of _my friends, _you jerk!"

"I should have known instead of just apologizing for butting into my business, you would annoy me until I got distracted and ruined my brand new designer original." She shrieked the last bit and hid a grin at his resulting wince. _Ha_ – for all his infamous blank looks and iron control, she knew exactly how to rile him up so badly that actual emotions showed on his face. Granted, those emotions were generally fury, irritation and frustration – but hey, a girl's gotta grab her fun where she can.

He didn't comment on either her screeching or over-dramatics but she got the distinct impression he was moments away from rolling his eyes. "I did not _bust in on Sam,_ I called ahead of time and asked if I could talk to her_._ I asked her to keep an eye on you. You're Spinelli's best friend; I'm not going to apologize for trying to keep you from getting killed. The Zacchara's are dangerous Maxie."

She snorted, her nose turned up in disdain. "What - and you and the midget Mafioso Casanova aren't?"

"Midget ma…what the hell? Don't let Sonny hear you call him that."

"Or what, I'm going to end up waking up with a horse's head in my bed?" She smiled and tapped a fingernail to her chin in mock thoughtfulness, "Or would you have to use a pony – y'know, to help compensate for Sonny's size… or uh, lack thereof?"

At this, Jason did roll his eyes. Not even Carly could push his buttons like this girl. "He's not that small Maxie."

"That's not what Sam says." She smiled wickedly and Jason fought to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up and kept his face carefully blank. He never knew whether he was going to be fighting the impulse to strangle her or laugh his ass off when Maxie opened her outrageous mouth. He shook his head at her. He never prayed for patience as often or as fervently as he did when dealing with the tiny blonde dynamo in front of him. This time last year, he'd barely spoken ten words his entire life to her and now she'd somehow firmly ensconced herself in nearly every aspect of his life.

He cracked his neck and mentally counted to ten. "When Sam was telling you about my visit, did she happen to mention that she agrees with me?"

"Yes," she admitted grudgingly, "I know you're just worried about my safety – both of you – and I appreciate that. But I am not in any danger from Johnny or his sister, they would never hurt me."

"Maxie, you're in danger just _knowing _them. Your friendship with those two makes you a target. And I admire your drive in starting up your own fashion company but letting Johnny put up the money for your new company was a really bad idea. It makes you an even bigger target."

"And Spinelli working for you makes him one." She pointed out. He sighed.

"I have guards on him Maxie, he's under my protection. The Zacchara's Maxie…I know how you love to dive headfirst into trouble but anyone would have been better than those two. You should have come to me for help starting up your company." He held up a hand to silence the inevitable rant. "I have money separate from Sonny. I know you can't stand him, but I would have helped you."

She rolled her eyes, "We are not having this argument _again_ Jason. Sonny's a complete dick and he treats _our friend _Spinelli like complete crap_. _Quartermaine money or not, if it came from you Sonny would think he has the right to tell me what to do. And there is no way in hell, that's happening."

She was right and he knew it. It didn't make him any happier about the situation. As much as it pained him to admit it, he counted Maxie as a friend. He blew out a deep breath. As usual, being around her for more than five seconds had thrown him off track. He'd nearly forgotten the reason he'd tracked her down this morning. The damn girl would have tried even his Grandmother's legendary patience – and the woman had been a saint. He sighed.

"If you're going to insist on hanging out with the Zacchara's, at least let me put Milo on you."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "Put Milo on me? Do you have any idea how pervy that sounds? No thanks."

"Damn it, Maxie…" he jammed his hands in the pocket of his jacket. She was so damn stubborn; all he wanted was to ensure her safety. He found himself yet again longing for the days of Emily's sweet sensibility and understanding. Maxie seemed to live for opportunities to be contrary and frustrating.

"Look Lurch – I appreciate this whole _save the damsel_ thing you've got going on, but I don't need saving. I'm fine. I'm just a big old walking target no matter what. I used to work for Kate – you remember…your boss's girlfriend. I have _your _computer expert as a best friend and my dad is the police commissioner. Hanging out with Johnny and Claudia really doesn't make much difference. So thanks but uh…hell no. No one who takes orders from Sonny is going to be following me around."

"One guard Maxie, just one. It doesn't even have to be one of Sonny's – I can hire someone completely neutral. Why are you fighting me so hard on this?"

She threw up her hands in exasperation. "Uhh…hello? I _have_ guards you big ox – take a good look around… those two giant walls of brick with guns standing in the shadows aren't there because they're fans of my fashion sense."

He glanced around in surprise. Well damn. Sure enough, two men with identical menacing expressions stepped out of the shadows. He must be losing his touch, how the hell did he miss that?

Maxie snickered at him. "Oooh, this is rich. The great Jason Morgan didn't notice two giant-sized G.I. Joe's following me around everywhere for the last two weeks." She clapped a mock consoling hand on his shoulder.

"Don't feel too badly – it's to be expected at your age." She leaned in, her voice a stage whisper. "I've heard observational skills are the first to go."

He jerked away from her and glared. "I'm not that much older than you."

"Sure you are," She grinned "you're _waay _older than me. Plus, your line of work adds _years_ to your age – so you're practically ancient!"

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you." He rubbed his forehead wearily. "You are the most exhausting, frustrating, annoying…"

She snorted. "So which are you today, the pot or the kettle?"

He stared blankly at her and she rolled her eyes. Figured. The man had about as much of a sense of humor as he did fashion sense. This was to say of course, none at all. _Honestly - jeans and a leather jacket even when it was ninety degrees out? Who'd he think he was, James Dean? Didn't he realize that look died when the Fonz was still popular?! _She sniffed disdainfully and crossed her arms in front herself. The man was hopeless.

"If you're so worried about my safety, why are you stalking me around town painting a big old bull's-eye on my back?"

"I'm not stalking you Maxie."

"Yeah right, you just happened to show up at the same exact time as me."

"Oh for…" Jason took another deep breath; he tended to do that a lot in the company of Maxie. "In case you've forgotten, this is _my_ coffee house."

She rolled her eyes. "How could I forget? It's covered in grey and black inside and has absolutely no personality. Really Jason, it has all the warmth of…well, you. Clearly you wasted money on your Interior Decorator."

"I'll let Bernie know you disapprove – he'll be crushed." He informed her dryly. Truthfully, he wouldn't say a word. The interior decorator had been hand-picked by Bernie – and he actually _would_ be crushed by Maxie's opinion. For some bizarre reason, the man actually liked her. Even though Bernie often complained of headaches and rushed for painkillers after talking to her for longer than five minutes, Bernie was genuinely fond of the non-stop blonde whirlwind.

"Bernie? I haven't seen him in forever – tell him to call me, I have a surprise for him. Oh wait, never mind." She dug through her purse and pulled out an envelope with a triumphant grin. "Here – these are for him. They're tickets to the fashion show in Manhattan he was trying to get his niece for her birthday."

Truthfully, he wasn't really all that surprised. She did things like that all the time. Just when you were convinced she was nothing but a manipulative, selfish, self-centered airhead – she would yank the rug out from under you with a kind and generous gesture. It was pure Maxie – she lived to keep people off balance.

"Okay." He took the tickets from her and tucked them into his back pocket. Bernie would be thrilled, Diane however would not be. Jason nearly groaned in frustration. Now he was going to have to listen to Diane bitch for days about Bernie's niece getting them instead of her.

She grinned. "Oh, and don't worry – I already sent two tickets to Diane's office this morning."

He grunted. She rolled her eyes. "You're welcome Lurch."

"Miss Jones?"

They both turned as one of her guards approached. "Yes Tony?"

The man glared at Jason and tilted his head in the universal code of _go the fuck away_ spoken by mafia members everywhere. In response, Jason leaned comfortably against the wall behind him, gave the guard a blank stare and crossed his arms in front of him.

"Look Morgan…." The guard narrowed his eyes and stepped forward threateningly.

Maxie laid a hand on his arm. "Tony, I'm sure Johnny has already told you – Jason's a friend. I don't need protection from him."

"I have a message for you." The guard didn't stop glaring at Jason. Maxie sighed – _it didn't matter which organization they worked for or what position they held, mobsters were territorial paranoid morons._

"Tony, its fine – what'd Johnny say?"

"Ms. Zacchara said to let you know she and her brother are in the neighborhood. They ask that you wait here."

She tilted her head in acknowledgement. Jason watched the guard disappear back into the shadows and cocked a skeptical eyebrow at her. "In the neighborhood?"

"Johnny doesn't like you anymore than you like him. Thing One and Thing Two over there were probably on the phone with Johnny two minutes after you showed up." She shrugged. "I think he and Claudia want to make sure you don't succeed in convincing me the only good mobster is a Corinthos mobster."

"I just want you to be safe Maxie."

"So do they." She crossed her arms and sighed. "Look, I get what you're trying to do. And I appreciate it, I do. But Jason – you, Sam and Spinelli are going to have to let me live my own life. That includes making my own mistakes." She tilted her head, placing a tentative hand on his shoulder. "I like my life Jason. That's something I never thought I could say that, but I do. I have friends, _friends Jason_ – me! I'm not going to lose that willingly. I get that you want to protect me and I…I" she blew out a breath giving a pained grimace. "You have to know how important Sam, Spinelli….and –you, are to me."

He sighed. "We just want you to be safe."

"I know."

"We just worry about you Maxie. We want you to be safe – you need to keep making this world an aggravating, frustrating, crazy place."

She smiled. "Thanks Lurch."

"Anytime Tinkerbell."

"Tinkerbell?"

"Yeah, she was a tiny pain in the ass too."

"Does that make you Peter Pan? 'Cause I gotta tell you – you dancing around in green tights?" She shuddered delicately, "Very scary visual."

Before he could reply the Zacchara limo pull up to the sidewalk. He glanced over at Maxie and sighed. Johnny emerged from the car and Maxie's face lit up. _"Just a friend, we're just friends."_ That was Maxie's standard reply to any and all inquiries about her relationship with Zacchara. It wasn't exactly a lie, more of _obliviousness_ on Maxie's side. She genuinely had no clue her effect on Johnny.

The two literally lit up whenever they got around each other. It was painfully obvious to everyone, John Zacchara wanted much more than friendship from the petite blonde. As he watched, Maxie greeted the siblings with a brilliant smile and gave each a tight hug. He felt his gut tighten as Maxie blushed – _blushed, for fucks sake – _at something Johnny murmured into her ear. Somehow the vivacious blonde had weaseled her way into becoming like an adopted sister to Jason. He'd be damned if he was going to let the swaggering lothario get Maxie hurt or killed.

"It's a little nauseating how damn sweet they are together, huh?" Claudia smirked as she joined him. "Those two are going to produce some damn good-looking kids someday soon."

He narrowed his eyes at Claudia. "They're just friends." Yeah, it sounded about as believable when he said it as when Maxie did.

Claudia snorted. "Right. If I looked at my_ friends_ like those two stare at each other, Nic would never let me near Lulu alone again."

"He doesn't let you near her now." He replied dryly. He had begun to seriously doubt the sanity of Emily's former husband. How the hell did the man go from someone so sweet and kind to dating Claudia Zacchara of all people?

"True." She shrugged her shoulders carelessly. "But that has more to do with my hating every hair on her over-bleached little head than staring at her like I want to throw her down and fuck her six ways to Sunday."

"I wasn't aware Lulu counted you as a friend." Jason ignored the _six ways to Sunday _comment. It brought disturbing visuals that only hot pokers in his eye sockets could alleviate.

"Well, I haven't put a bullet in her head yet."

"And you wonder why I want Maxie to stay the hell away from you two."

"Oh, I don't wonder." She glanced once more at her brother talking quietly to Maxie a few feet away by the limo. "I know why. You may have appointed yourself as Maxie's over-protective big brother, but let me tell you…" she stepped closer, her expression cold and deadly. "You mess with my brother's happiness and I will not stop until I destroy you and Sonny, you got me?"

"I don't respond well to threats."

"Oh honey, that was no threat. Trust me."

"Hey, what'd I miss?" Maxie smiled brightly. Her blissful expression dimmed a little as her eyes slid between the two. "Uh, guys?"

"Nothing. I'm going to get our coffee – you want one?"

She nodded and watched silently as Claudia slipped into the coffeehouse. "Do I even want to know what that was about Jason?"

"No." He shook his head. "Johnny ditch you already?"

She rolled her eyes. "He didn't ditch me Jason." She pointed towards the sidewalk. "You can see he's on the phone, he got an important call."

"And you're not allowed to hear about it?"

"It's business." She shrugged unconcernedly. "I don't want to hear about it. So what were you and Claudia getting so worked up about?"

"Nothing." He glanced up at the sky and took a step back. Maxie followed his gaze and frowned at him.

"What are you doing?"

He blinked at her, face blank. "I don't want to get in the way when she comes back out and the house falls on her."

"Jason Morgan – you just told a joke! I think somewhere a tiny piece of hell has just frozen over." She snorted. "But it was a bad joke, cause Claudia is no Wicked Witch of the West – the witch had no sense of style and was butt-ass ugly. Even you have to admit, Claudia is hot as hell. Sonny certainly thought so."

Jason could acknowledge the physical attractiveness of Claudia Zacchara's face and body, but the woman was a snake with a cold, black heart. A gun to his head couldn't force him into bed with that viper. What the hell Lulu's brother saw in her, he had no fucking clue.

Even though Maxie liked the world to think she was a superficial Barbie doll, if you were very lucky – you got to be one of the fortunate few that saw the kind and generous heart hiding beneath the bitchy exterior. Claudia's beauty hid nothing but deception and a self-serving cold-bloodedness.

"Beauty's only skin deep Maxie."

Maxie rolled her eyes. "Well…duh. Was that supposed to be some pearl of wisdom or something? Cause I gotta tell you, it was pretty lame. Of course beauty's skin deep – I mean why the hell would I care if I have a beautiful spleen or a good-looking liver? You don't see an internal intestines competition on Miss America, do you?"

Not for the first time, Jason groaned internally and wondered just what hellish third dimension he'd found himself thrust into. _Maxietopia_ apparently, where time passed in a hyper speed of unsolicited advice and razor sharp insults, where fashion and make-up were the gods to be worshipped and where normal sane people –_like he used to be – _found themselves inexplicably tied to its dizzying, non-stop center – Maxie-freaking-Jones.

"Maxie…."

She grinned at him. "Oh lighten up Lurch; I am perfectly safe with Johnny and his sister. What the hell do you think they're going to do – shove me in a hole with nothing but a bucket so they can make themselves a Maxie suit? I know you don't trust Claudia but she's been nothing but kind to me. Besides, I'm a girl – I like to talk about clothes, men and sex. Are you volunteering yourself for some girl-talk?"

His answer was a blank stare. Maxie snorted in disgust. _Typical._ She didn't know if she'd go so far as to call Jason a friend, but he was something damn close to it. And _Christ in crotch-less panties_, but did she love to get under his skin. Her week just never seemed really complete unless she'd exasperated the man to his boiling point at least a dozen times.

He was just too damn stoic – _ah, the greatness that is the word-of-the-day calendar, strikes again_ – for his own good. Somebody had to shake him out of his dull, emotionless, boring little world. Was it her fault she was so damn good at it?

Maxie grinned, an evil thought popping into her head. She sighed loudly and sagged a little against Jason. He frowned and looked down at her.

"What's wrong?"

She smiled and shifted her gaze to where Johnny stood leaning casually against the side of his limo as he spoke into his phone. "He is so hot."

Jason's frown deepened. "What?"

"Johnny – look at the way that suit just clings to him." She sighed again, a little more dramatically this time. "I bet he's just magnificent naked. All those tight, hard muscles hiding under those sexy clothes of his. And that ass, makes a girl just want to bite it. Have you seen the size of his hands? Hmm, I bet he's hung like a…." Beside her, Jason made a strangled noise. She fought to keep the smile off her face.

"You okay Jason?" She cocked her head at him thoughtfully.

He opened his mouth. Then closed it. Then opened it again, a vague look of disgust sweeping his features. "I think I may be sick."

"That would just be rude Jason." She grinned at him cheerfully. "You already made me dump coffee all over myself; there will be no hurling on my new shoes."

Jason rubbed the sides of his head tiredly. Why had he started talking to her again? You'd think he would remember that every conversation ended with him promising himself to avoid the snarky blonde at all costs. Yet, here he was again – moments away from his head exploding.

"If you promise never to talk about that _ever _again, then I'll stop trying to get you take on a guard loyal to me, okay?" she nodded and he shook his head at her tiredly. "Obviously I can't talk you out of making yourself a giant walking target. Just _try _not to throw yourself into trouble, okay? Sam and Spinelli would never forgive themselves – or me, if something happened to you. The Russian's are getting more aggressive by the day. You're directly connected to the two organizations that stand in their way. Just be careful."

"I'm always careful Jason." He didn't bother to dignify that with a reply.

He grunted, Jason-speak for goodbye and thanks _ever so much_ for the delightful conversation she supposed. He turned and began walking away without another word. Claudia emerged from the coffee shop balancing three cups. Maxie took one gratefully. She grinned and threw Claudia a wink as a delicious idea hit her.

"Hey Jason."

He turned at her shout and eyed her warily. "Yeah?"

"Guess what? Claudia says the last time she Johnny naked he was like two, but …" she ignored Claudia's startled "_What the fuck?!" _next to her. Maxie's grin turned evil and she gestured so her hands were about ten inches apart.

"Y'know, _proportionally speaking…_" she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and snickered at Jason's appalled and tightly nauseous expression. He blanched, pointing an accusing finger at her. She nearly clapped her hands in glee as he shot her a disgust filled glare. Not much made her happier than aggravating the crap out of Jason. He just made it too easy sometimes.

Claudia snorted in amusement as Jason's lip curled in revulsion before turning and stomping away. She just loved hanging out with this girl. Maxie was the only person she'd ever seen able to get more than a vacant stare out of the man. She shook her head at the tiny blonde in admiration.

"I swear girl, you're better than the comedy channel sometimes."

Maxie smiled brightly. "I live to entertain."


End file.
